Phillies notes: Halladay could make one more start

It won’t come in the Phillies’ final home game Thursday. The Phillies could have pitched the right-hander on regular rest against the Nationals, but that isn’t going to happen.

Instead the Phillies will give Halladay as much time as he needs to allow his right shoulder to shake off the muscle spasms that led to a disastrous performance against the Braves last Saturday, one that ended any hope for a miracle comeback in the wild-card race.

Because the Phils were idle Monday, that allows them to wait until Saturday in Miami to see if the veteran can take the mound. Since there are only four more games after that this season, it will be one-and-done for the erstwhile ace.

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Despite the fact that Halladay spent seven weeks on the disabled list with a shoulder-related issue and has been struggling to find his cutter since, there was very little concern within the organization that the two-time Cy Young winner was at risk of pitching his way into the operating room after the season.

“He’ll throw a bullpen (Wednesday) and we’ll make a decision after that, probably,” Charlie Manuel said. “How he feels and how he throws will probably dictate what we do.

“Of course he wants to continue on if he can. ... He wants to pitch. He wants to finish the season. I think if it’s not going to hurt him ... I don’t see a reason why he shouldn’t.”

According to pitching coach Rich Dubee, the muscle spasms that led to Halladay giving up seven runs and not escaping the second inning against the Braves last weekend have been a recurring issue.

“He’s had them three or four times this year,” Dubee said. “Sleeping wrong, bad beds — whatever. ... We’re going to see where he is (Wednesday) and go from there.”

While the medical staff has repeatedly checked Halladay for structural problems and hasn’t found any, what Dubee will look for during Wednesday’s bullpen session is any change in his mechanics due to discomfort. That’s when something that rest and rehab can cure turns into something that requires a surgeon.

Manuel doesn’t want to see the Halladay who labored last Saturday get back out there this coming Saturday.

“I thought he was definitely having trouble ... as far as putting (the ball) where he usually puts it,” Manuel said of Halladay. “He was having trouble with his velocity and also having trouble with his command.”

With the Phillies having no reasonable path for a wild-card run, there seems no real reason to pitch Halladay beyond satisfying his own desire to play out the string. And Manuel thinks that’s reason enough to stand by his guy.

“Yeah, if he feels that way. I do,” Manuel said. “If he thinks it’s important to him, then, yeah, I agree with that. I’ve always been the kind of guy that wants to play. I want to see my guys play, I want to see them pitch. If they’re hurt and they can’t go, I definitely don’t want them out there.

“I know Roy knows himself. ... If he can and he wants to and it’s not going to affect him that much anymore, than why shouldn’t he?”

Darin Ruf got his first starting nod in left field Tuesday. The Eastern League home-run king entered the start with just three plate appearances since getting called up more than two weeks ago. However, from watching the slugging right-handed hitter in those spots and in batting practice, Manuel sees a familiar swing.

“I like his approach at the plate. He puts me into mind of Bob Horner,” Manuel said of the former Braves slugger who famously went directly from college to the majors in the late 1970s. “He’s got the same kind of a setup, the same stride of a Horner. He’s got quickness in his bat, and he hits the ball to all fields. I like that.”

Sure enough, in his first at-bat against Ross Detwiler — a pitcher he faced when the pair was in college at Creighton and Missouri State, respectively — Ruf took a 3-2 pitch and launched a towering solo homer to left-center field for his first big-league long ball and 40th of 2012.

“He’s a good low-ball hitter,” Manuel said. “Most right-handed hitters are high-ball hitters. Low-ball hitters ... Manny Ramirez is more of that. Juan Gonzalez. They could hit the balls down, stay on breaking balls and send them to right field. That’s good. That’s something good in his swing.